On this large scale auction, the last of a whirling season, over 2000 lots were put up for auction.
Hereby a short survey of the most appealing result (prices excl. 22%).
Asian art
From the Skiersobolski legacy to the WWF a large collection of netsukes, laquer boxes, prints and drawings by Shibata Zeshin came to the surface. As to be expected, this collection drew international attention. Most estimates were easily surpassed, e.g. lot 162 got up to 2200 €, lot 3 to 2600 €, lot 109 to 3000 €. And although the room wasn’t fully crowded, we witnessed a slow sale due to fierce bidding in the room and on the phone. Nevertheless all expectations were lived up to as the overall result showed a fair 240000 €.
The evening session brought even more firework to the sale as a large vase went to a dealer on the phone for 11000 € (lot 562), a pair of statues in finely sculpted Chinese ivory climbed up to 7000 € (lot 534). Anothe remarkable result come from a highly geniously crafted side board (lot 576) which trippled its highest estimate and got up to 9200 €.
Old Master Paintings and Antiques
An impressive kitchen scene by Adriaan Van Utrecht (lot 804) sold for 18000 € while a lady’s portrait by Aert Pietersz. (lot 802) left the block for 7000 €. An allegorical scene on copper by Jan Van Kessel (lot 830) was worth 12000 € for its new owner.
Interest for antique furniture and applied arts is still alive and kicking, so it seems after taking a look at some stunning results. A set of 13 antique tiles representing different animals finally made 2600 € while a large collection of about 200 pieces made it to 5600 €. One Urbino tile (lot 580) climbed up to 4200 €. A mid 16th century carved piece of a religious scene (lot 621) was heavily chased after, finally making a fair 10000 €. A fine 16th century statue of St.Catherine (lot 626) ended with a well earned 5000 €.
Some pieces of furniture still made their stand in these hard selling times. A large standing clock from the workshops of Adriaen d’Baghijn (lot 924) made a breathtaking 14000 €, while an Antwerp cabinet with inlay of tortoise took a last bid at 13000 €.
It’s a comforting news that quality is heavily paid for and chased after. That goes for paintings as well: a canvas attributed to Jean Ragoux (lot 998) left the room for 26000 €, while Portielje (lots 996, 1001, 1006) got hammered at resp. 4200, 5600 and 8000 €.
An exquisite collection of bronze sculptures by Baggen (1040) and Albéric Collin (lots 1039, 1040A, 1040B) set the room on fire: a chihuaha, a majestic cheetah and an equally impressive dromedary ran up to 13000, 36000 and 32000 €. The Baggen sculpture made a stunning 15000 €.
Tribal Art and Design
The estimate for a Japanese mammoth tjoeba (lot 1616) was multiplied by ten and sold for 4000 €, a ’Mwantantay-Bwa’ mask left the room for 3000 €, the same price obtained for a Mbulu Ngulu figure from Gabon (lot 1522). A Warega mask was sold for 2000 € (lot 1533).
During the thursday evening session design afficionados came for loop chairs of Willy Guhl (lot 2077, 1700 €), a standing lamp by Van Dierenbeeck (lot 2130, 2800 €) and sculptures by A.Noll and H.Lannoye (lots 2187, 2215) both sold for 3000€.